Download Europeans in the New World

Europeans in the 'New World' by D.Hyman et.al.
Desire for Mineral Wealth
Trade
Technology
Overland Trade Route
Wind System and Ocean Currents
The renaissance took Europe out of the Middle Ages, a time were life was centered around the
afterlife, to a period of art, creativity, literature and expansion and Spain much improvement in
sailing and navigation.
Marco Polo was one of the first Europeans to make a successful trip from Europe to Asia and
wrote about the riches of China. Yet for two centuries they could not make any more trips
because of the Moors. During the war, Europeans were attempting to take back their lands from
Moors, while converting these Muslims to Christians and in addition to European
slaves.Columbus an Italian sailor read this book and wanted to find the long lost world of Marco
Polo. The only route to Asia was known as the Silk Route and the treasures that they hoped to
get would be too much to take back this way.
Prince Henry of Portugal, established a school of navigation at Sagres, of the coast of Portugal.
Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco de Gama, two of his students, were able to find a route to Asia- by
sailing around the African Continent but Colombus decided another route could be sailing
westward across the Atlantic. He asked kings, queens from Portugal and England but Queen
Isabella of Spain decided to support Columbus. And so on August 3, 1492 with three ships. The
Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria he and some sailors decided to start the journey.
There had been several false alarms on the ship where sailors thought that they had spotted land.
An issue arose on the ship when the compass changed directions and the sailors were concerned
that they were no longer sailing north. (winds and ocean currents)On October 7th, the direction
of the ships was altered in order to follow a flock of birds that had flown over the ship. On
October 9th, Columbus and the crew thought about turning back but at 2am on the morning of
October 12th land was sited by Rodrigo de Triana. The island was called Guanahani by its
natives and San Salvador by Columbus. A Taino cacique invited Colombus on shore and gave
him a feast of sweet potatoes, cassava and masks of gold. He then complained about the Caribs
and the Admiral comforted him by telling the Cacique he would defend them against the cruel
Kalinagos.
Desire for Mineral Wealth
The desire to gain mineral riches pushed European expansion. Countries measured their wealth
in the amount of gold and silver (bullion) that it physically held. It was, therefore, in the best
interest of each country to secure as much of the world's bullion as possible. Since this theory
held that one nation could only prosper at the expense of another, voyages of exploration were
seen as necessary to find new lands and untapped reserves of bullion before other competing
nations found them.
Trade
The desire to trade served as a motivating factor for European exploration and eventual
settlement in the 'New World'. Prior to their arrival in the Americas, their focus of trade was in
the East. European products such as linen cloth, wine, furs and woollen goods were exchanged
for jewels, ivory, gold, perfume, cotton, silk, coffee, dye and spices. Merchants, adventurers and
government officials were optimistic of finding precious metals and expanding the areas of trade,
especially for the spices of the East. Many of these spices were used to preserve meat, as well as
to add flavour to food.
Overland Trade Route
Arab traders who had a monopoly on the trade route primarily provided these spices. These
overland trade routes were quite dangerous since they were plagued by bandits. Caravans that
could take very little goods and experienced a long journey also traversed the route. The
Portuguese thus sought to achieve a sea route to the East to trade with India and China for these
spices. The Portuguese sought to gain access to the spice trade by sailing eastwards through the
Indian Ocean. Later, the Spanish, aiming to decrease Portugal's trade in the East, sought after an
alternative trade route to the East. It was this desire by Spain to find an alternative trade route to
the East that would see Christopher Columbus reaching the Americas. See an interactive route
Technology
Technology also served as another important factor for European exploration beginning in the
1400s. The Renaissance had produced a period of immense learning and discovery. This entailed
an increase in ideas in science, politics, religion and geography. Europeans had developed
remarkably seaworthy ships and had learned how to build ships large and strong enough to sail in
any waters. Their cartographic skills improved to the point where Europeans had accurate maps
of the known world. Before, sailors had to rely on hand-drawn maps (portolani) which were
usually inaccurate. In addition, they developed new navigational instruments such as the
compass and the astrolabe. The compass showed in what direction a ship was moving and the
astrolabe used the sun or star to ascertain a ship's latitude.
Quadrant
Compass
Astrolabe
Other devices included the quadrant, hourglass, sextant, sundial and cross-staff. In addition, there
was an improvement in ship designs. Bigger ships were built that could carry a larger amount of
traded goods. These ships were known as carracks. These new technologies provided the
Europeans with the catalyst to undertake exploration.
Religion
Religion was another important factor that prompted European exploration and settlement of the
Americas. By 1492, the Spanish and Portuguese had driven the Muslims Moors out of Europe.
The Catholic faith was an integral part of European life and, as such, there was a deep desire to
spread the faith to 'pagan' peoples. Religious zeal was high among the adventurers who went out
to explore on behalf of their nation. This saw them exploring in the aim of spread Christianity to
distant lands.It is these significant changes in 15th century Europe that accounted for extensive
maritime exploration.
Wind System and Ocean Currents
The trade winds were important in European exploration as this was the wind system which
would take the Europeans from Europe to the Americas. The currents, specifically the North
Equatorial Current and the South Equatorial Current (they flowed east to west), were equally
important as they took the ships back out of the Caribbean.